On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of
friendship from the people of France to the people of America,
arrived in New York Harbor after being shipped across the
Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than
200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was reassembled
and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over
by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the
world as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

The Statue of Liberty’s face before it was installed.

On June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6, Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel into space. After
48 orbits and 71 hours, she returned to earth, having spent more
time in space than all U.S. astronauts combined to that date.

Before her selection for the Soviet space program, Tereshkova
was a textile factory. She joined  the Air Force as part of the
Cosmonaut Corps and was commissioned as an officer after
completing her training.   

By the spring of 1965, Bob Dylan’s presence in the world of
music was beginning to be felt well outside the boundaries
of his nominal genre. Within the world of folk music, he had
been hailed as a hero for several years already, but now his
music was capturing the attention and influencing artists like
the Byrds, the Beatles and even a young Stevie Wonder. 
       
With Dylan as a direct inspiration, popular music was about to
change its direction, but so was Dylan himself. On June 16,
1965, on their second day of recording at Columbia Records’
Studio A in Manhattan, he and a band featuring electric guitars
and an organ laid down the master take of the song that would 
make that change: “Like A Rolling Stone.” It would prove to be
“folksinger” Bob Dylan’s magnum opus and, arguably, the
greatest rock and roll record of all time.

It was the fourth of 11 takes that day that yielded the six-minute-
and-34-second recording that very nearly didn’t become a big
hit single.

(FOX NEWS) – On this day in history, June 15, 1864, Arlington
National Cemetery, our nation’s honorable military burial
ground, was officially established.

The national cemetery began with the seizure of Gen. Robert
E. Lee’s hilltop home (shown below) after he defected to the
Confederacy during the Civil War.  History.com.

Robert Edward Lee
(January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870)

Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856 – April 26, 1940)

Henry Ossian Flipper, born into slavery in Thomasville,
Georgia, in 1856, became the first African American cadet
to graduate from the United States Military Academy at
West Point, New York on June 15, 1877 as a second 
lieutenant in the United States Army.

Flipper was also an author who wrote about scientific
topics and his life experiences.

The United States Military Academy—the first military
school in America—was founded by Congress in 1802
for the purpose of educating and training young men in
the theory and practice of military science. Established
at West Point, New York, the U.S. Military Academy is
often simply known as West Point.

10th Regiment United States Cavalry insignia.